


Hold Me Like You Held Onto Light

by with_bleeding_hands



Category: Incredibles (Pixar Movies)
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-07-31 11:33:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20114419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/with_bleeding_hands/pseuds/with_bleeding_hands
Summary: In the midst of a painful divorce, Helen seeks comfort from an unusual source.





	Hold Me Like You Held Onto Light

**Author's Note:**

> The rest of Control and the expansion of Denial, Revisited are both happening, but I had to write something cute.
> 
> If you know what band I quoted to get the title of this work, you get a cookie*.
> 
> *Cookie not guaranteed.

“What are you doing here?” said Evelyn Deavor in a voice that was mild, but there was a demand in it. Helen was reminded of a sheathed dagger or a gun in a concealed holster.

Helen looked down at her hands. She was seated on one of the plush sofas in Evelyn's home. Evelyn sat in an armchair across from her, idly running a fingertip over her ankle bracelet. “B—my hus—I mean...” Helen took a deep breath. “I'm getting a divorce.”

“Good for you,” said Evelyn, to Helen's surprise. “I would have hit Mr. Incredible upside the head when he was struggling not to be sexist about my brother's make-superheroes-legal-again plan starring you.”

Helen's cheeks colored and the backs of her eyes felt hot. She wasn't sure how to reply to that. Eventually, she got out, “That made me angry too.”

“The numbers didn't lie,” said Evelyn. “If every superhero were like you, I might reconsider my position. But I haven't done that. So, again: what are you doing here?” She smirked. “Trying to convert me?”

“Not exactly.” Helen wrapped her arms around herself.

Evelyn put her head on one side. “Hey.” Her voice was quieter. “Come on. What's the story?”

Helen was quiet for a moment. “I didn't know where else to go. Everyone else I'm close to is...I mean...” She closed her eyes, struggling to spit out the truth. “It isn't just that my...my...soon-to-be-ex-husband and I have all of the same friends, and I don't want to make them pick sides. It's that...” She shut her eyes tightly. “For years, I got...attention from other supers, and I never said yes when any of them asked me to dinner or a movie, until...” Helen pressed her face into her hands. “There was never anyone I was...I was...interested in until Bob. But then...then...” Helen bit her lower lip. “Then there's you.”

“Me?” Evelyn sounded genuinely surprised. She held her hands up. “Hang on. Let me get this straight. Are you really saying that for your whole life, you've had feelings for two people. Mr. Incredible...and me.”

Helen nodded, relieved that Evelyn had spelled it out.

Evelyn walked over to where Helen sat on the sofa and re-assumed her limbs-akimbo sprawl, this time beside Helen. “You're serious?”

“I think there might be something wrong with me,” said Helen, her voice small. “Only two people in thirty-nine years? That's...”

Evelyn cut her off. “That's just how you are. Nothing wrong with it.” 

Helen stifled a sob. “I keep thinking that...that night I met the younger supers, and you and I were talking? I keep thinking that if I weren't married, I would have kissed you.” She bit down on her fist and failed to hold back a second sob.

Evelyn rested a hand on Helen's back. “Hey,” she said, her voice low. “You're going to have to help me out here. Did you come here because you're lonely now and just wanted a warm body, or do you need me to hold you while you cry it out?” 

Helen answered by reaching for Evelyn, who pulled Helen into a tight embrace. Helen rested her head against Evelyn's shoulder and let herself cry. Evelyn stroked Helen's hair and whispered, “I wish the hell I were better at comforting people. What do you need me to say?”

“You can just hold me,” said Helen thickly.

“Okay.”

Helen wept on Evelyn's shoulder until the tears finally abated. “I'm sorry,” she rasped. “I didn't come here intending to cry all over you.”

“It's okay,” said Evelyn dismissively. “No apology necessary.”

Helen looked around for the nearest box of facial tissue; she stretched an arm several feet to grab a few tissues, which she used to blow her nose and wipe her eyes. “I do feel a little better,” she said.

“That's good.” Evelyn slid a hand up and down Helen's back. “You know, when you first showed up at my door, I thought you had figured it out.”

“Figured what out?” said Helen, brow knitting.

“I've gone over what happened on the _Everjust_ in my head a million times, and I finally admitted to myself that I kicked you over to the flare gun because you're just too pretty for me to let you die.” Evelyn paused. “Is this the wrong time to say that I thought about kissing you the night we were drinking together too?”

Helen shook her head. “Not the wrong time.”

Evelyn lifted Helen's chin with a curled index finger. “Is it the wrong time to say that I'm still thinking about kissing you?”

“No,” Helen whispered. “You can kiss me if you want.”

Helen expected kissing a woman to be a strange experience, something she would have to get used to. But when Evelyn's warm, full lips met hers, she immediately concluded that her expectation was dead wrong. Evelyn's kisses were slow and sweet and careful, as if she wanted to emphasize how much she meant each one. Helen wrapped her arms around Evelyn three times, holding the other woman close, not wanting the kisses to end.

But eventually they did, and Evelyn leaned her forehead against Helen's. “How you holding up?”

Helen closed her eyes. “You're a good kisser.”

“So are you, but that doesn't really answer my question.”

“I like kissing you, but I still feel like I'm doing something wrong,” Helen confessed. “I mean...we're both women. I've never kissed another woman before. And I haven't been separated for very long.” She sighed. “And I have a headache. I always get headaches when I cry a lot.”

“It's a shame we don't have a long-standing close relationship,” Evelyn sighed. “Hot baths always make me feel better. If we had spent more time together, I'd suggest that we take a bath.”

Helen bit her lower lip. “There's nothing stopping us from doing that.”

Evelyn was quiet for a moment. “Yeah, I guess there's not.” She gave Helen a quick squeeze. “Want to take a bath with me?”

Helen closed her eyes. “Yeah.”

“Okay.” Evelyn hesitated. “How do you feel about kisses on your hair?”

“I like that.”

Evelyn kissed the top of Helen's head. “Shall we head to the bathroom?”

Helen stood up and took Evelyn's hand. “Okay.”

Evelyn led Helen to a luxuriant bathroom with a large hexagonal bathtub. Evelyn started the water and tested the temperature with a hand. “This temperature okay?”

Helen stretched an arm to feel the water stream. “It could be a little hotter.”

Evelyn nodded and adjusted the temperature. When the tub was full, Evelyn began undressing, seemingly with a total lack of self-consciousness. Helen stripped off her own clothes, suddenly feeling shy. Evelyn was beautiful, slim but for lovely dramatically curved hips, and her smooth skin was light with a brown undertone. Helen blushed darkly as she caught herself admiring the other woman's naked body.

“Hey.” Evelyn touched her shoulder. “It's okay.”

“There's more of me than there used to be” was the only thing Helen could think of to say, not sure if she was comparing herself to Evelyn, worried about what Evelyn was thinking about her physique, or both.

Evelyn reached for Helen's shoulder again. “Maybe. I still think you're perfect. Want to get in the tub?” Her voice was soft, reminding Helen of when Evelyn had encouraged Winston to introduce her to the new supers.

“Okay.”

Helen lowered herself into the tub, sighing as the hot water seeped tension that she hadn't known she was carrying from her muscles.

“Told you,” said Evelyn with a small smile. “Nothing like a hot bath.”

“I haven't had a bath in years,” Helen sighed. “Just showers.”

Evelyn picked up a ceramic jug from beside the tub, filled it with water, and poured it over her head. Helen watched her curiously as she massaged shampoo into her hair. She had never watched another woman bathe before.

“Are you going to wash your hair, or scrub, or just soak?” Evelyn asked, holding the shampoo bottle out to Helen.

“Scrub, I think,” said Helen. “But I'm going to just relax for a while.”

Evelyn nodded. Helen rested in the warm water while Evelyn rinsed her hair, massaged conditioner into it, and began washing herself with a cloth. Once she was covered in suds, Evelyn picked up a small women's razor and shaved her underarms. Helen watched curiously as Evelyn shaved her legs, comparing Evelyn's motions to the way Helen used her powers when she did the same thing.

Evelyn saw her looking. “What?” she said. “Hard to imagine shaving the backs of your knees without elasticity?”

“Yes,” said Helen with a smile.

Evelyn rinsed her hair and her body, then motioned to Helen. “Can I hold you? You can rest your head on my chest.”

“That sounds nice,” Helen murmured, moving over to Evelyn. She carefully leaned against Evelyn, her back against Evelyn's belly and her head against Evelyn's breasts. She felt Evelyn's arms wrap around her.

“You comfortable?” Evelyn asked.

Helen's eyes drifted shut. “Comfortable” was an understatement. Evelyn's freshly washed skin was deliciously soft and the warm water was still comforting. “Yeah.”

Evelyn kissed Helen's hair. “Good.”

It seemed to Helen that one moment, she was enjoying her closeness with Evelyn, and the next, Evelyn was whispering “You awake?” in her ear.

Helen yawned. “Was I asleep?”

“I think you were,” said Evelyn with a chuckle. “I didn't want to wake you, but my back is starting to dislike this position.”

“Okay.” Helen sat up, and Evelyn stretched and let out a sigh.

“I'm about ready to get out if you are,” said Evelyn. “My fingers look like raisins.”

Helen blushed. “I'm sorry.”

“Nah, nothing to be sorry for.” Evelyn gave Helen's shoulder a quick squeeze.

“I'm just going to wash myself real quick,” said Helen, grabbing the soap and a cloth with a stretched arm.

Evelyn shook her head. “I never thought about it, but your super abilities are awfully useful.”

“They do come in handy,” said Helen with a smile.

“I never thought I would be jealous of a super, but I'm imagining how much easier it would be to fold sheets and blankets if I had your abilities,” said Evelyn almost wistfully.

Helen laughed. “Being able to stretch my arms does help with that.”

Helen finished washing and rinsing herself (Evelyn watched curiously as Helen made clever use of her powers when shaving her legs) and got out of the tub. Evelyn followed, handing Helen a towel and retrieving a pair of bathrobes from a small nearby closet. The one she gave Helen was plain white; the one she chose was light blue with a pattern of DevTech logos.

Helen dried herself off and shrugged on the robe. Evelyn took her hand and squeezed. “How are you holding up?” Evelyn asked.

Helen smiled a little bashfully. “I came here thinking I'd end up in your bed, but I haven't been sleeping well...I'm tired. That little nap I took reminded me of that.”

“You could end up in my bed for a longer nap,” Evelyn suggested, toweling off her hair.

“I think I'd like that,” Helen whispered.

Evelyn cupped Helen's chin in one hand. “Can I kiss you?”

Helen's smile widened. “You don't have to ask every time you kiss me. But yes, you can.”

Evelyn took Helen in her arms and kissed her, warm and gentle, then rested her forehead against Helen's. “Shall I show you to my room?”

“Yeah,” Helen breathed.

Evelyn took Helen's hand and led her to a large, slightly messy bedroom with an unmade king-size bed. “Want to snuggle?” Evelyn asked, and Helen nodded. Helen climbed onto the bed, lying on her side, and she felt Evelyn lie curled against her, fitting their bodies together like puzzle pieces. Evelyn draped an arm over Helen's waist. “This okay?”

Helen sighed. “You feel good.”

Evelyn kissed Helen between her shoulder blades. “So do you.” She proceeded to leave more kisses on Helen's throat and shoulders, and Helen bit back a moan.

“Evelyn?”

“Hmm?”

Helen swallowed. “I'm too tired for things to...to escalate, but could you...” She couldn't finish her sentence.

“Could I what?”

Helen took Evelyn's hand and guided it beneath the cloth of her robe, pressing Evelyn's palm to the curve of her right breast. She felt Evelyn shiver.

“God...Helen, you're so...soft...” Evelyn sighed. “Are you sure?”

“I'm sure. Just...be gentle.”

Evelyn kissed Helen's right shoulder blade. “Of course.”

Helen let her eyes close as she felt Evelyn begin to massage her breast almost shyly, the pad of her thumb making tiny circles on the sensitive skin. “Just like that,” Helen sighed.

Evelyn pressed her face into Helen's hair. “Okay, _cara_.” She moved her hand to Helen's other breast, kneading and caressing.

Helen was enjoying Evelyn's gentle touch so much that it took her a few moments to process what Evelyn had said. “What did you just call me?”

“Oh...sorry. Didn't mean to get all sappy.” Evelyn paused, embarrassed. “_Cara_ is Italian. It means 'beloved'.”

Helen blushed. “You speak Italian?”

“Yeah. Dad was Italian. 'Deavor' is Americanized. The name on my birth certificate is Evelyn Apollonia di Verona.”

Helen moaned as Evelyn's thumb circled her nipple. “That's pretty,” she sighed.

“Thanks.” Evelyn kissed the nape of Helen's neck. “You doing okay? Need me to stop?”

“Don't stop,” Helen begged softly, arching into Evelyn's touch. “It feels nice.”

“You sure?” Evelyn turned her hand to give soft, backhanded caresses to Helen's breasts. “I know you haven't been separated that long. If we're going too fast...”

“No,” Helen cut her off. “I...I like feeling wanted.”

“Just want to make sure you aren't going to regret this,” Evelyn murmured. “It was nice taking a bath with you. I'd like to do that some other time, not never see you again because you're ashamed you let me touch your breasts.”

“I don't see myself regretting this,” Helen breathed. “Oh, God, Evelyn...”

“You're beautiful, _cara_,” Evelyn murmured. “How is the 'feeling wanted' thing going?”

“It's going really, really well.” Helen's voice was almost a groan.

Evelyn dropped kisses on Helen's shoulder blades, cupping her hand around Helen's left breast again. “Tell me if you need me to stop or change anything.”

Helen bit her lower lip. “I'll tell you, but for now, what you're doing feels perfect.”

“Okay.” Evelyn kissed Helen's hair again.

Helen didn't want Evelyn to stop touching her, but eventually her tiredness caught up to her and she asked Evelyn to stop so she could sleep. Evelyn adjusted Helen's robe, kissed her shoulder, and wrapped her arm around Helen's waist. Helen closed her eyes and was asleep within moments.

“_Cara?_” Evelyn nuzzled Helen's shoulder. “It's 4:20. You said you had to go home at 4:30, right?”

Helen stretched and yawned. “Mmm...yeah, I have to leave soon.”

Evelyn sat up. “I'll get your clothes.”

“Thank you, sweetie,” said Helen sleepily.

Evelyn's cheeks colored and Helen realized she had called Evelyn a pet name for the first time. She felt her own face flush.

Evelyn brought Helen's clothes back to her. Helen dressed herself, still worrying a little about what Evelyn would think of her body, but more comfortable than she had been undressing for the bath. Evelyn touched the small of Helen's back. “Is it okay if I say your ex-husband is an idiot?” Evelyn asked. “Because that's how I feel looking at you.”

Helen's blush darkened. “I shouldn't think it's okay, but I do,” she mumbled, and Evelyn slid her hand up and down Helen's back. “I have to go now, but...” Helen swallowed. “I haven't been sleeping well, but I was able to sleep with you there. Could we...maybe...” She looked down. “Could I sleep here? Maybe tomorrow?”

Evelyn nodded knowingly. “You don't trust me in the house with your kids. I get it. I wouldn't hurt them, though. I wasn't going to, even when I was trying to keep supers illegal. They're just kids.”

Helen smiled wanly. “Speaking of my kids, it'd also be hard to explain you staying the night to them.”

“I bet. And I can tell you're not the type to lie.” Evelyn held her arms out and Helen accepted her tight embrace. “You're gonna be okay,” said Evelyn in a low voice.

Helen closed her eyes. “For the first time in a while...I actually believe that,” she sighed.


End file.
